


Somewhere along the road

by NoaLowe



Series: Geralt Whump Week 2020 [1]
Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, Geraltwhumpweek, Happy Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Requited Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:40:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25090273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoaLowe/pseuds/NoaLowe
Summary: Geralt was used to be cast aside. Being a witcher had never meant being a hero, no offense to Jaskier and his White Wolf's tales. At the beginning of his journey on the Path, Geralt had believed he'd be a hero, fighting monsters to save people. He'd learned fast enough that no one would ever consider him as a hero. People barely see him as better than the monsters he killed. With his unnatural eyes, people were afraid of him at best, were trying to kill him at worst. And after Blaviken, Geralt simply lost the hope to be accepted one day.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Series: Geralt Whump Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1817164
Comments: 8
Kudos: 142





	Somewhere along the road

**Author's Note:**

> I am four days late for the @Geraltwhumpweek challenge.  
> Prompt Day 1: Ostracism.  
> Thanks to Person Pepper for her beta-reading ;)

Geralt was used to be cast aside. Being a witcher had never meant being a hero, no offense to Jaskier and his White Wolf's tales. At the beginning of his journey on the Path, Geralt had believed he'd be a hero, fighting monsters to save people. He'd learned fast enough that no one would ever consider him as a hero. People barely see him as better than the monsters he killed. With his unnatural eyes, people were afraid of him at best, were trying to kill him at worst. And after Blaviken, Geralt simply lost the hope to be accepted one day.

Well, he had friends and none of them were human. They were witchers, elves, dwarfs, vampires.

Geralt understood it. Humans were afraid of what was different. He couldn't blame them. Humans were weak creatures, dying easily, in a harsh world.

So when one human was trying to befriend him, he was wary. No one could want to be his friend without wanting something in return because being his friend, known to be his friend meant to be cast aside too.

That why he couldn't trust Jaskier. Twenty years together and Geralt couldn't still understand why the bard had followed him for so long. If it was solely for his songs, Jaskier would have stopped following him on the Path long ago. The bard was popular across the Continent. Every month he got an invitation at courts to perform, Oxenfurt's Academy tried every year to get him to teach a class for the next year. They even tried to tempt him with a house with servants and a very huge pay. But Jaskier always had refused their proposing.

Well, he would be ungrateful to the bard if he didn't acknowledge the improvement of his life this last decade. People tended to be less aggressive with him and paid him better. Jaskier made a wonderful work with his reputation. The White Wolf had indeed replaced the Butcher of Blaviken in people's minds as if the Butcher was just a monster in a fairy tale.

So when he witnessed Jaskier being cast aside by his fault, Geralt felt so bad that it was even hard to breathe. Like this very day. In a shit town in the middle of nowhere, Jaskier was hurt by a rock, launched on the witcher. He had seen the fury igniting in the bard's eyes and Geralt had grabbed him on the last moment before he could rush to the poor soul who had tried to attack him.

Jaskier had sworn profusely in his arms as he had taken him outside the town. Even Lambert would have been proud of how imaginative Jaskier had have been with his words.

Out of the town, the bard shut his mouth, but his body didn't loosen. He still was furious when Geralt had set the camp and hunted their meal.

"Why?" Geralt whispered in the tense silence around the fire.

Jaskier snapped.

"Why what?" he snarled as if he was a wolf, not a lark.

Geralt sighed, trying to dislodge the lump in his throat.

"Why are you so furious? You should be used to it by now. You can force people to like me."

Jaskier jaw's tightened and he breathed hard by his nose.

"You're an idiot," he growled. "How can I be used to it? How can I be used to seeing my most beloved one being mistreated by anyone?"

Geralt's eyes widened as Jaskier jumped on his feet and paced up and down around the fire. In his fury, the bard didn't seem to realize what he had just said.

"I have had enough of those trashes who imagined they can be disrespectful to the one who saved them from monsters! I have had enough of these people who think they can live without your help!"

As Jaskier continued to furiously grumble about the very ungrateful people around the Continent, Geralt felt his chest tightened painfully.

He must have heard wrong. No one could love him. He had tried, only Melitele knew how much he had tried. He had tried with Yennefer but even with the help of a djinn, he couldn't manage to gain her love. He had tried with Triss, but she just a friend and not a very good one, she always had something to ask him when they met. He had even tried with Shani, the lovely doctor in Oxenfurt, but he failed, like always.

How could he have succeeded with Jaskier while he wasn't even a good friend! How could Jaskier love him after what he had said on the mountain? The bard assured him it was nothing. Fight among friends wasn't rare and could be forgiven after good apologies. He had apologized, as soon he had found him again.

But love?

No. It couldn't be. He had dismissed this possibility a long time ago. Jaskier never looked at him like this. He had often the smell love on him and it wasn't the scent the bard carried when he was around him. He had learned to recognize it when Jaskier fell in love with the Countess of Steal. That heady scent of roses was the scent of love for the bard.

Now, while telling he was his beloved, Jaskier smelled like grass after a rain, a subtle scent Geralt really liked, not roses. No, this grass' scent was the one for friendship.

He tightened his jaw as he crushed the sudden hope which had rose in his chest to the bard's words.

"Geralt?"

The witcher snapped out of his thoughts.

"You didn't listen to me," he whined, his fists on his hips. "You asked me something and you don't even bother to listen to my answer."

The anger had left the blue eyes and something warm and amused had replaced it. For a reason Geralt didn't really understand, it hurt more than the false hope the bard's words had awakened a moment ago.

He avoided his gaze when he got up. He needed a moment for him, to collect his feeling and his thoughts before he said something that would definitely break his friendship with the bard.

But a hand on his wrist stopped him.

"Geralt? What's going on?"

The witcher tensed, he hadn't felt him move. Like he was a wounded beast, Jaskier bypassed him slowly and stood in front of him, his scent of grass surrounding him. Geralt fought the sudden desire to belong somewhere, to someone. He was tired to be cast aside, to be ostracized like a monster. One could say he had Kaer Morhen and his brothers, but how could he be felt normal among monsters? Or with his friends when they were all ostracized too?

"Fuck," he murmured as he left his head fall on Jaskier's shoulder.

"Geralt?"

A hand took place on his nape, a steady hand that felt like an anchor in the storm of feelings raging in his chest.

"Why? Why did it bother you so much?" he asked again, tired to not understand the bard, tired to not understand why he continued to stay beside him despite everything.

A heavy sigh escaped the bard's chest. Hands fell on his cheeks and forced him to lift his head.

"Really? Do you have to ask? After twenty years you don't understand why it makes me furious when people insulted you? Oh, Geralt ... Sometimes you're the dumbest people on the Continent."

Jaskier chuckled as Geralt was so confused.

"Jask’..."

The bard closed the distance between them and put his forehead on his.

"Geralt... Why would someone follow another one for twenty years? Why would someone try to change the other one's reputation for the better? Why would someone be angry when the other one is hurt? Why would someone sing about another one for twenty fucking years? Really Geralt? Isn't it obvious? "

The witcher hesitated.

"Love..."

"Yeah. Love."

The witcher took a step back and touched the wound on the bard's cheek. It was one of many others the bard got by staying by his side.

"You love me?"

Even at his own ears, it sounded weak.

"Yeah, I do, and it amazes me you didn't know. It's not like I tried to hide it. It's even pretty obvious when you listen to my songs."

Hope tried to take place in his chest again.

"It might happen again," the witcher breathed as he stroke the bard's cheek.

Jaskier shrugged.

"Yeah, it might, it'll always be dumb people who can't see how good you are and what good you do in their life. And yes, I will fight anyone who dares to say you're a monster. And yes, I will probably hurt doing it and you know what? I. Don't. Care. I have spent twenty years changing people's perceptions of witchers and I will spend another twenty years doing so if necessary. Now, I'm starving. Shall we eat, shan't we? "

Jaskier took a step back, letting go to Geralt's face, intending to go back to the fire.

Geralt frowned. After his love confession, he had expected a kiss or at least a flirting gesture, but the bard didn't try anything as if– As if he didn't love him back or didn't expect to be loved back.

He took him a second to understand he wouldn't have a second chance. Jaskier had thought for years he had known about his feelings and didn't say a thing because he didn't love him back. If he waited, Jaskier wouldn't believe he'd fall in love with him. But now? Now he could say he didn't know and was afraid of rejection, that he had enough of being cast aside, to be abandoned by his loved ones. Now, he could face his own feeling without the fear of left alone with his own misery.

Just before Jaskier sat down, Geralt took him in his arms and let his head fall on his shoulder.

"Geralt? Are you alright?"

"Love you too," he breathed against his nape, loud enough to be heard.

Jaskier tensed in his arms.

"You what?"

"Love you."

A moment of silence met his confession. For a brief moment, Geralt feared rejection despite the bard's words. And then, Jaskier melted in his embrace.

As Jaskier turned around and kissed him, Geralt thought being ostracized hadn't been so bad at the end. It was worth being hated if in the end it had allowed him to meet Jaskier. Without it maybe he wouldn't have met this young bard, who had been willing to change his reputation, who had been willing to show to the world who Geralt of Rivia really was and who he had fallen in love with somewhere along the path.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you'd enjoy your reading!


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